CHICAGO (May 2, 2013) – The ETSU baseball team wraps up its five-game road swing this weekend as the Bucs head to the Windy City for a non-conference series at Illinois-Chicago. The three-game series gets underway Friday night at 7:05 p.m. (Eastern) from Les Miller Stadium.

ETSU (25-19) has split its first two games on this trip as the Blue and Gold rallied for a 7-6 win at Appalachian State on Tuesday night, but suffered a 10-6 setback to Tennessee Tech Wednesday in Cookeville.

PITCHING ROTATION / GAME TIMES

Friday – 7:05 p.m. – Game No. 45

RHP Kerry Doane (9-1, 2.27) vs. RHP Tomas Michelson (5-3, 2.61)

Saturday – 3:05 p.m. – Game No. 46

LHP Josh Jacques (1-4, 4.54) vs. RHP Ian Lewandowski (4-3, 2.59)

Sunday – 1:05 p.m. – Game No. 47

RHP Logan Rice (5-1, 2.33) vs. RHP Mike McKinley (2-2, 3.29)

LAST TIME OUT FOR THE BUCS

- The Bucs belted three home runs off Tennessee Tech pitchers, but it wasn’t enough offense to propel their way to a victory as the Golden Eagles defeated ETSU, 10-6, Wednesday night at Bush Stadium.

- Senior Andrew Green (Powell, Tenn.) and junior Dylan Tritsch (Boca Raton, Fla.) provided the Blue and Gold with two-run home runs and senior Derek Niesman (Wellington, Fla.) hit a solo shot in the eighth, but Tennessee Tech also registered three round-trippers on the night, while using a two-run second and four-run third to guide its way to a four-run victory. Green’s homer gave the Bucs a 2-0 lead in the top of the first and Tritsch’s blast pulled ETSU within four runs of Tennessee Tech in the seventh.

- ETSU’s offense totaled 14 hits as Tritsch led the way at the plate with three hits, while Green, Niesman, Clinton Freeman (Jonesborough, Tenn.), and Andrew Lasure (Stanford, Ky.) provided the Bucs with two hits each on the night.

- Green extended his hit streak to nine straight games and Freeman pushed his streak to seven consecutive games with a hit on Wednesday night. The Powell, Tenn. native is hitting .351 (13-37) with five doubles, one triple, one home run, eight runs scored, and seven RBI during this run, and Freeman is 13-for-29 (.448) with three doubles, two home runs, and nine RBI in his last seven contests. Green is also 5-for-6 in stolen base opportunities in his last seven games, and is only five swipes shy of breaking ETSU’s all-time stolen base record.

ABOUT UIC

- UIC has dropped six of its last eight games and enters weekend play with a record of 20-22.

- The Flames split a pair of midweek games as UIC defeated Rockford College, 11-1, on Tuesday night, but suffered a tough 7-5 loss to Northern Illinois Wednesday.

- Sophomore outfielder/catcher Tyler Detmer leads the team with a .309 batting average (47-152) and has also produced a team-leading 11 doubles. Meanwhile, red-shirt senior infielder Alex Grunenwald and red-shirt junior infielder Ryan Boss have combined to hit 13 of UIC’s 16 home runs. Grunenwald leads the club with seven homers and Boss has left the yard six times in 2013. On the mound, freshman right-hander Ian Lewandowski leads the team with a 2.59 ERA (17 ER/59.0 IP), while sophomore righty Tomas Michelson leads the team in wins (5), innings pitched (72.1) and strikeouts (53).

- As a team, UIC leads the Horizon League with 60 stolen bases and have been hit by a pitch 65 times, which also marks a league high. The Flames are also tied for the league-lead in wins, while their 4.34 ERA (177 ER/367.0 IP) and .268 (384-1432) opponents’ batting average against rank second in the conference.

SERIES VS. UIC

- This weekend marks the first-ever meeting between the two programs.

- Overall, ETSU is 4-0 all-time against current Horizon League foes. The Bucs defeated Valparaiso 21-15 back in 2001, while sweeping Youngstown State in 2006.

COVERAGE

- Live stats will be available for all three games this weekend via StatBroadcast by visiting ETSUBucs.com. Fans can access live stats on their computers, mobile devices or tablets.

- Live updates will also be posted on Twitter by following @ETSUAthletics and @ETSU_Baseball.

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